New Delhi: It was all in a day’s work. After a day of high drama in Pakistan, former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif – who touched base with the country after seven years in exile - was deported to Saudi Arabia. In Pakistan, the move led to protests with Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-N, with other opposition parties and lawyers' bodies, calling for a nationwide strike on Tuesday to protest the deportation.
Those who have called for a stir include PML-N, Islamist alliance Muthahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), Tehrik-e-Insaaf (Social Justice Party) headed by cricketer- turned-politician Imran Khan, the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) and Pakistan Bar Council.
SCBA President Munir A Mallik was quoted as saying by the agencies that if Sharif has been arrested, then law demanded that he should be produced before a magistrate within 24 hours.
"This is a simple case of kidnapping," he said.
Malik said like March 9, when Chief Justice Iftikhar M Chaudhry was suspended, today too was a "black day for the country" as the Supreme Court judgement was "flouted".
Lawyers all over the country would boycott the courts, he said. However, the Pakistan People's Party headed by Benazir Bhutto has not joined the call.
PPP Press Release |
 The PPP has noted that Mian Nawaz Sharif has been deported to Jeddah following his return to Pakistan this morning. Earlier the Supreme Court of Pakistan had rightly ruled that a citizen has a right to return to Pakistan. The PPP has noted that Mr Nawaz Sharif admits a deal brokered by foreign governments and foreign dignitaries for his benefit with General Musharaf to release and remit the sentence against Mr. Nawaz Sharif for treason and tax evasion in return for his going into exile, not doing political activity or holding media interviews. In view of this agreement, volunteering to give up his right to live in the country, it is a matter between Mr. Nawaz Sharif, his guarantors and courts of Pakistan. The PPP leadership refused a similar deal for self-benefit. As a result, Senator Zardari spent 8 years in prison, the politically motivated litigation against them continued and they bore the pressure for the sake of the political, economic and social rights of the people of Pakistan. The PPP calls for the release of the PML (N) and other political workers who had gone to receive Mr. Nawaz Sharif at the airport. |
(With PTI inputs from Islamabad)
(For updates you can share with your friends, follow IBNLive on Facebook, Twitter and Google+)
displayed with permission. Use of the CNN name and/or logo on or as part of CNN-IBN does not derogate from the intellectual property rights of Cable News Network in respect of them.